


No Love Go [Alpha!Calum AU]

by outerspaceisbetterthannothing



Series: The Girl Who Cried Wolf [Alpha!Calum AU] [3]
Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, F/M, Werewolf Mates, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2019-07-17
Packaged: 2020-06-30 01:31:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19842751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/outerspaceisbetterthannothing/pseuds/outerspaceisbetterthannothing
Summary: Part 3 to “The Girl Who Cried Wolf”Summary: How does it feel to lose something you’ve never had?Warnings: ugh, usual stuff, lack of proofreading, smut and smut and some drama and, oh that’s new, graphic description of bloody violence, so 18+ kids and on your own risk only





	No Love Go [Alpha!Calum AU]

Calum was sucking on your clit. His hands were holding your thighs, fingers leaving prints on your skin. His tongue was sliding up and down your entrance, teasing you, making you arch your back, but not entering you. Calum moved his lips to your thigh, kissing and sucking there, while his fingers moved to your core. His thumb pressed on your clit, drawing a long moan out of you. You stretched your arm out, burying your fingers in his curls, trying to move his head back to your already aching core. But he threw your hand off and kept sucking hickeys on your skin. 

“Cal, please,” you begged, not capable of holding back anymore. You felt him smiling into your thigh, his fingers started teasing on your entrance. 

You sobbed at the feeling, one of your hands squeezing on your breasts, while another went back to his hair. This time he gave in and turned back to your clit, his lips wrapped around the little bundle, while his fingers finally entered you. You groaned deeply, feeling all of your tension gather in one spot, where he was devouring you. You kept moaning out his name mixed with lustful _yes’s_ and pushed through your greeted teeth _fuck’s_. 

His fingers were fucking you with the breathtaking speed. You were so close, the pit inside your stomach burning harder, ready to explode. You felt his free hand find yours on your breast and squeeze. And that moment it happened.

Your alarm went off. 

You opened your eyes to see it flicker with the red numbers. 6.35. 

You rolled on your front, cursing the whole world, Calum and yourself. You hated waking up like that, aching for the release. And it was the second morning in a row it happened. Your body was missing him, longing for him, and no matter how hard you were trying to overcome it, you weren’t any close to it. You couldn’t get him out of your mind. But you also couldn’t give in to your instincts. 

You looked at the clock again. At least you had some time to finish what he started in your dream. You closed your eyes and brought back the pictures, your imagination ready for you, your hand slipping lower on your stomach.

***

Calum opened his house door and bent down to pat his tiny dog. 

“You do have the habit of saving lost souls,” commented Ashton, following Cal inside and closing the door. “First that dog, than Andy.”

“You wanna eat, buddy?” Cal asked the dog not paying attention to what Ash was saying.

The pup ran to the kitchen, two men followed him. Calum filled a bowl with the name ‘Duke’ on it with the dog food, while Ashton poured them two glasses of whiskey. They sat down on the opposite sides of the kitchen counter. 

“Did you have any time to look at the chemicals suppliers offer?” Ashton asked, his eyes not leaving his friends face for a moment.

Calum nodded, spinning the glass in his hands.

“And what do you think of it?” 

Cal shrugged. “Whether we sign it or not, it won’t change much,” he answered finally, his eyes still on the glass. 

Ashton frowned. “The fuck is on with you, Cal?” 

Calum looked up at Ash, but turned his eyes away pretty fast. “Nothing much. Just tired, is all.”

“Tired, huh?” Ash took a sip of his drink. “Is it your omega?”

Calum looked up again, sad smile on his face this time. “She’s not my omega,” he shook his head. 

Ashton’s frown grew deeper. “Hold on, she went into a heat after you two fucked, right?” 

Calum nodded and finally drank from his glass, the liquid burning his throat, distracting him from the memories Ashton brought up. 

“And you were the only one to tame her heat?” Ashton went on with stating facts.

Calum nodded again.

“So you two are mates?”

“Obviously,” Calum muttered, knowing exactly where Ashton was going with that. 

“Then why the hell would you say she’s not your omega? That’s exactly what she is.”

Calum nodded this time too. Ashton was right. And still, she wasn’t his omega. What could he say to that? He took another sip.

“Cal?” his friend kept asking. 

Calum sighed and gave in, “Remember how we could only track her down to the last city she lived in, but never to her original pack?”

“Yeah,” Ashton confirmed. 

“That’s because she ran away from her pack and tried pretty hard to cover all tracks.”

Ashton shrugged nonchalantly, “Not the strangest thing.”

“Taken out of the context, probably, not,” Calum agreed.

“And what is the context?”

Calum sighed again. Then said, “She’s from the Northern Lakes pack.”

“The one with the alphas bloodline?” Ashton gasped.

Calum nodded. 

“Okay, but so what?” his friend obviously didn’t see much problem in that, until an idea popped in his mind. “Don’t tell me- Don’t tell me she was someone else’s omega before!”

“Are you out of your mind?” Calum looked at him, his eyebrows furrowed in displease. “She’s never been anyone’s omega before me!”

Ashton raised his hands, “Chill, man! You’re just being mysterious with that shit and you know things like that happen sometimes.”

“She’s the alpha’s daughter,” Calum dropped the bomb, enjoying Ashton’s dumbstruck face. 

“But that bloodline produced only boys, that’s why they kept their position for so long,” Ashton mumbled. 

“Yeah, well, she was the first, obviously,” Calum shrugged. He knew what people said about that pack. Still, he had his own sources. 

“Did she tell you that herself?” Ashton asked and Calum heard suspicion in his voice.

“I checked her words, if that’s what you’re thinking about.”

“How?”

Calum shrugged again. “I have some friends on the north. They confirmed there was a daughter of the Lakes pack alpha’s and that she disappeared around ten years ago. The description matched.”

Ashton finished his drink and poured himself more. “Why did she ran away in the first place? Her bloodline is probably the oldest in the country and as the alpha’s daughter she could have it all.”

Calum sighed again. “From what I got, her family is pretty crazy.” Ashton chuckled to that. “Her father didn’t even presumed she could ascend as an omega. He was raising her as an alpha, future leader of the pack. So when she did ascend, things got rather harsh. She had to leave not to let her older brother kill her.”

Ashton kept gaping at Cal. “And what did her father think about his son trying to kill his daughter?” he finally asked.

“Oh, he was hoping she’ll kill her brother first.”

“Crazy, you said? I’d rather use ‘sick’ for this family,” Ashton stated, drowning half of his drink in one go. 

“You don’t say,” Calum muttered in agreement.

“So what now? She has issues with her omega nature?” Aston asked some time after.

Calum just nodded, rubbing his chin. “She said she doesn’t have it in her, obeying to the man,” he added. 

They kept silent for some more time, until Ashton came up with one more question.

“Maybe your dick play wasn’t that good?” he asked, smirking at his friend.

Calum looked back at Ashton in disbelief. “My dick play was gorgeous if you need to know! She was seeing stars and tearing up with my name on her lips.”

“You sure those weren’t tears of disappointment?”

“Fuck off, mate!” Cal scoffed to that.

“Just kidding, bro,” Ashton laughed. Calum couldn’t help but smile to that too. That was exactly why he couldn’t imagine his life without his best friend, who was able to make him smile even in the dark hours. 

“What are you gonna do?” Ashton asked all serious again after his laughter went off.

Cal shook his head, “I have no idea. For the first time since I became an alpha I have no fucking idea what to do.” He sighed, finished his whiskey and added, “But not like there are so many options. I can force her into it. Or I can let her go.” 

“You can’t let her go,” Ashton said. “You two are mates, you know it doesn’t work like that.”

Calum inhaled deeply, hiding his face in his hands. “But I can’t force her into it, either. I just can’t do that to her. So what options am I left with?”

“Just give it some time, Cal,” Ashton said with another heavy sigh. “Give her some time. She won’t be able to deny it. She just needs time to, probably, come to terms with that.”

Calum moved his hands off his face and nodded, looking at his friend. That he could do, he thought, while Ashton filled their glasses with amber liquid and raised a silent toast.

***

You strolled down the grocery shop aisles, debating on the fastest and easiest ways of not to die of hunger and still eat more or less healthy. You hated shopping on weekdays, having no power or patience enough for it after work. But as you spent your weekend first on going through the heat and then on bailing your eyes out and cursing on the whole world and your own damn nature, you had to do your shopping today, having a literally empty fridge. You didn’t even have any liquor there, all the bottles finished in an inefficient attempt to forget the past weekend.

You stopped next to the fridge with cottage cheese, thinking it would be the easier meal for tonight, when you noticed him. The wolf was standing next to yoghurts. His basket was empty. You forced yourself to look away before you draw his attention. You took a deep breath and tried to convince yourself there was nothing strange in a grown up man choosing yoghurts. Who said men only cared for meat and beer after all? Fuck the stereotypes and let men like yoghurts. That was logical enough if not for the couple of things. One of them being the fact that he left yoghurts without picking one and followed you to the vegetables aisle, his basket still suspiciously empty. And the other being the fact that you’d seen that wolf at least for the third time that week. And it was only Wednesday. 

You looked back at him again. He was rather tall, but too lanky, so looked more like a teenager than a grown up man. Uneven haircut and a neck tattoo only added to the childish look of his. You felt he was an omega, and frankly his posture and shaky hands only proved you right. You’d expect to see a wolf like that somewhere like an outskirts of a big industrial area, living alone, being an outcast, exiled from a pack by stronger male wolves as a weak element. With bigger integration into human society there were less and less situations like that among your kind. You thought, picking on herbs, how much stronger the pack bonds were becoming in past generations. But there still were some less civilized communities, so the occasion of weak wolves being thrown away, unfortunately, wasn’t that rare. Maybe he was an outcast, you though. A wolf like that being used to hunt you down seemed rather unrealistic and, you hated to admit, offensive. But what if the look of him was delusional? You were an omega yourself, for god’s sake, yet you’d give any pure blood a run for their money. You threw another careful look at the guy. He was an omega, no doubts there, but there was something else in him, which left a taste of danger on your tongue. 

You huffed, picking up a cauliflower and the couple of eggplants and trying to keep him in your eyesight. Were you thinking too much of it? The town was pretty small after all, but the annoying voice in your head was nagging it wasn’t that small. You hadn’t met Calum even once unless he wanted you to, yet you’d seen that guy every day. And even though you knew alpha had his reasons not to cross paths with you, while that wolf hadn’t, you still thought it was too strange for a mere coincidence.

You understood you lost him when you were paying for your food and let yourself relax. Not for long though, as you saw him again on a parking lot. The wolf was getting in his car. His hands empty. He left the shop not buying anything. You felt your hands starting to shake. 

You got into your car and left the store parking, keeping eyes more on the rear view mirror than on the road in front of you. His car was following you all the way to your house. When you parked next to your apartment building, you saw him drive past. Then he parked at the end of the street and stayed in a car. 

You felt danger slipping into your life again, anger raising inside of you. Why would it happen to you again? Why would it happen now?

You found shelter inside your apartment, persuading yourself he’d harmed you already if he wanted to. His task was obviously just watching you. But for how long? You were unloading your shopping bags, while your mind was running up to one assumption after another. 

Was he your father’s wolf? Sent in search for the long lost daughter? The lucky one to come to the Lakes with the good news? In that case you had almost nothing to worry about, except for your past finally finding you, of course. If you knew your father, and you flattered yourself with the idea you did know him, he wouldn’t act spontaneously. He’d wait, look around, figure out chances and dispositions, and only after that he’d act. Which gave you time. And that also was the less horrible option, as your father was undoubtedly a sick bastard, but he didn’t want to see you dead that much.

If the wolf was from your brother, you were much likely to be screwed. Your brother was even sicker than your dad. The only question was if he wanted to kill you with his own hands, or would be satisfied with just your breathless body, brought to the Lakes. You had no idea what had been happening in the pack after your runaway, you could hardly predict your brother’s behaviour and that did leave you unsettled. But if you knew at least one thing, your brother wasn’t the type to send an omega after you. 

The morning didn’t bring you any answers, as you were positive you were being followed to your work. The car was different, but not the wolf inside. And you could swear this wolf’s eyes didn’t leave you for a moment until you disappeared behind the office doors. 

You kept thinking about that while working. As worrying as it was, some wolf following you kept your mind occupied and distracted you from thinking about alpha. The thoughts of him made your heart shrink with guilt and regret, so you were almost glad you got a break from it. 

And then it stuck you. Your father and brother weren’t the only alphas who could have you followed. Could it be Calum? You started thinking. You were absolutely sure you hadn’t seen that guy from the yoghurt aisle before this week. You hadn’t seen that much wolves in general before Calum, they were careful with who they let see them. Could Calum have one of his wolves following you? But why? To keep an eye on you? To control you?

You felt blood boil in your veins. That was the reason why you hated being an omega. Every damn alpha being sure he could take control of your life without asking. You tried not to focus on the fact that the damn alpha in question was your actual mate, still trying to deny that fact. Even that didn’t give him the right to play you so dirty. 

“Heey, sorry to bother, but I need to get your answer today,” you heard behind your back. 

You looked back to see one of your colleagues, Jess. She was looking at you with a question in her eyes. You tried to remember what was that question she wanted an answer to, but your mind was too overwhelmed with all the wolf drama to concentrate on anything else.

“About?” you asked, trying to keep your tone calm.

“The trip we plan for the weekend. You remember, I told you on Monday. A little outing.”

“Yes, sure! Sorry, those reports are basically killing my brain,” you apologized.

Jess smiled in a friendly manner and rolled her eyes, “Yeah, tell me about it!”

“Remind me, please, where exactly it’s going to be?” you asked, having a bad feeling.

“In a campsite not far from the city, about forty miles or so. There’s a national park there, some really beautiful places,” Jess explained.

Your throat tightened immediately. You’d known your answer before it formed in your mind. You were prohibited to leave the town. “Oh, I’m sorry Jess. I thought it would be just for the couple of hours,” you decided to play dumb. “I can’t leave for the whole day, have plans in the evening.”

“Male plans?” Jess smiled to you. 

You felt your muscles relax. You liked Jess, she was one of the first people to actually start talking to you when you just moved here and you felt like with time you could really become friends. That’s why you smiled and said, “Maybe.”

You didn’t completely lie, you told yourself. Even though you had no plans with Calum, he was the reason you had to say no to the trip. Jess left couple minutes later after wishing you luck with your plans. You sighed heavily. You needed something more serious than sheer luck to get out of the mess you called your life. 

Somehow that short chat with Jess distracted you from your heavy thoughts and let you work in peace till the end of the day. But when you saw the same guy from the yoghurt aisle on the parking lot of your office building, all your worries overflown you instantly. You got in the car, understanding there was a simple way of narrowing the number of suspects in organizing this follow. So instead of driving home, you turned to the nearest bar. 

You chose the first guy you saw. It wasn’t important how he looked like, the only thing that mattered was that he seemed to be interested and bought you a drink. Twenty minutes later he was ready to take you on that very bar counter if you pleased. You were mumbling some shit about leaving with him, as he leaned in to kiss you, his hand on your waist. 

Before you felt his lips, a wolf’s hand lay on the guy’s shoulder, stopping him from what he was about to do and giving you all the answers you needed. You grabbed your purse and left the bar abruptly, letting the men sort out the situation themselves. The last things you heard before the door closed behind you were the guy’s exclamations and omega’s surprisingly low voice, explaining how you were “taken”. 

You pulled out of the curb on a racer’s speed. You didn’t really remember where his place was. Leaving in a taxi the only time you were there, you were able to remember the part of the city, but didn’t even try to recall the actual address. But now you realised it wasn’t a problem at all. You didn’t even need to try to find his smell or use your instincts. You just knew where to go. You let out a low roar. If he wanted to be your mate, he had to deal with you finding him anywhere and at any time. Your blood was singing in your veins, your whole body shivered with anticipation as you were getting closer to him. You tried to suppress the longing you felt for him, fueling yourself with anger. Your breath was heated, you hardly could control yourself. But it was his fault. All of it was his fault. 

His parking lot was empty, but you had no doubts he was in the house. You got out of your car not bothering with even closing the door, throwing a look to the garage door, probably hiding his black suv inside. The pictures of fun times in his car flashed in your mind, but you forced them away. You were here not for that. You were here to show that damn alpha who he was messing with. 

You pulled the front door and stormed inside, the sounds of another car parking following you suit. You looked around, dim light of the hall and Calum’s scent messing with your senses. The sound of voices was on your right, so you followed it not losing any time. 

You entered the living room as a little tornado, messy hair around your face with bright already blue eyes. What you didn’t expect, too occupied with your anger and, frankly, lust on the way here, was Calum being not alone. You stopped as four pairs of yellowish eyes turned to you. All the men in the room were wolves. One more alpha, who, you remembered, you saw at the party, where you first met Calum, and two more pure bloods. You had no idea, whose pure bloods they were, but, turning your eyes to Calum, who was already standing and looking at you warily, you understood one thing very clearly. No matter how much you wanted to come up to him and start scratching his awfully beautiful face in a rage of your fury (and maybe fall on your knees and blow him after that, but you did your best not to focus on that idea), you couldn’t do that in front of other wolves. He was not just alpha, he was your alpha, you though, squeezing your fists so hard, your nails were hurting your palms. You could have been furious with him, but you couldn’t do anything to hurt his reputation.

You hesitated for what seemed to be only a couple of seconds, but this time was enough for the yoghurt-less omega to approach you and grab on your forearm. You breathed out and turned your face to him slowly, looking at the bold wolf in disbelief. The fucker thought he had a right to touch you? More of it, to touch you in front of your alpha? You already opened your mouth to inform that idiot of all the things you were about to do to him, when you heard Calum’s low voice.

“Andy, let her go, please. It’s okay.”

The wolf let go of your arm and took a step back. Calum motioned you to the corridor behind him and put his beer bottle on a coffee table. “Excuse us,” he dropped to his friends, while you were already rushing down the corridor. You had no idea, what rooms were behind the doors in that part of the house and you didn’t really care. You just needed the farthest one. You opened the door you were aiming for and found a study behind it. Walls covered in warm colored wood, huge desk, windows looking at a rather wild garden. 

You turned back to Calum and raised your hand to slap him the moment he closed the door. He moved fast, too fast even for you. You didn’t catch the moment he snapped your wrist, the next thing you knew, he was holding you tight, both your hands in his, like in handcuffs. You were pressed to his chest with your back, his scent overwhelming you. 

“Easy, slugger,” he whispered and left a feather like kiss behind your ear. 

You started bucking, trying to free from his grip. “Let go of me,” you hissed, twisting your hands.

“Are you gonna try to hit me again?” he asked, not raising his tone. You heard a smile in his voice, felt his lips linger down your neck. You had to gather all your strength not to dwell into his touch. He was doing it on purpose, you reminded yourself, he was trying to get an advantage of you. 

“Fucking, let go,” you roared, kicking off even harder. 

Calum unclenched his grit and you almost fell into the middle of the room. You felt like you only stayed on your two feet out of dignity. You turned back and just looked at him with all the anger and offence you had in you. He was standing right in front of the door, hands in the pockets of his pants. He met your sight and didn’t flick for a moment, no shade of guilt or understanding in his brown orbs. 

“How could you?” 

He kept silent. Just a quirk of an eyebrow being an answer. 

“Prohibiting me to leave the town wasn’t enough for you? I can’t even go for a day trip with my colleagues, Calum! But your controlling ass decided to make your wolf follow me everywhere?”

“That was for your own good,” Calum finally said in the same low voice, yet you saw in his eyes he was getting angry. 

“For my own good? Are you-” you huffed, not finishing the sentence. There was no point in asking if he was out of his mind. You knew the answer, had all the evidence on your hands. “That’s exactly why I never bother with alphas!” words fell off your lips like poison. “Too high up your own asses to even think you can be wrong!”

“I protect what’s mine,” said Calum and those words sounded more like a roar.

“I am not your, Calum!” you shouted, not able to keep it down anymore. 

“Yes, you damn are! You think I don’t know what you were doing there?” he wasn’t shouting, but his words somehow hit harder than yours. You felt his anger in shivers on your skin, in the metal taste on your tongue. “Andy had a very simple instruction, he should have only get involved if you were about to fuck another human. Don’t you think it’s rather selfish of you to come after me when that’s what you were gonna do?”

“For your information, I wasn’t gonna fuck anyone! I was only checking who that wolf was working for!”

Calum chuckled to that. “I’m sorry, love, is there any other alpha desperate to keep an eye on you?”

“Oh, I don’t know, Calum, how about my freaking father?” you said, suddenly calm, as if all of your emotions were frozen instantly. “Or my crazy brother? How should I’ve known it wasn’t one of them finally finding me?”

You saw his expression change, from accusations to understanding and then to regret mixed with sorrow. He didn’t even think about it, you understood. He had no idea what awful whirl of emotions he put you through in the last 24 hours. 

Calum took a step towards you, you stepped back. 

“I-” he started, but his voice broke. “I’m sorry, love. I didn’t think.”

He took another step and lifted up a hand to touch, but you stepped back again.

“Of course, you didn’t,” you dropped, venom still on your lips. You knew you weren’t that fair to him, but you just couldn’t stop at this point, your resentment pouring out of you. “Because you’re an alpha and alpha’s never wrong, right?”

He shrugged a little, like warding off your accusations with his shoulder, and stepped forward one more time. You mirrored his action yet again and crossed your arms on your chest.

“Just call your wolf off, that’s all I ask,” you mumbled. You felt uncomfortable with him towering over you. You knew you couldn’t trust yourself when he was so close and you were scared of what could happen next. 

“I can’t do that, love,” Calum shook his head, getting one step closer to you. 

“I told you, I’m not gonna fuck anyone,” you sighed and took the last step back, as you bumped into his desk with your back, “if that’s your issue.”

“I need to protect you.”

“I’m a fucking wolf, Calum!” you rolled your eyes. “Living among humans. If anyone needs protection, it’s them, not me.”

“What if your family do find you?” he said quietly, closing the distance that was left between you. 

“If that happens, your lanky little spy won’t stop them,” you sighed, feeling you had nowhere to run now. 

“He’s tougher than he looks,” Calum chuckled and put hands on your waist. “I heard some omegas have that peculiarity,” he finished with the smile and bent down to you. 

You held your breath before the kiss, yet his lips felt like breathing for the first time since Sunday morning. Calum pulled you closer, you had to stand on your tip toes even though you were wearing high heels. The kiss got deeper, his tongue claiming you once again. You tried to fight him, you honestly pushed him away for two seconds straight. You wanted to stop him, say that wasn’t what you came for, but instead you let yourself sink in the kiss. You kissed him back, your arms flew to his shoulders. It was crazy how intense your body’s reaction to him was. Your hands were shaking with lust, bright flashes twinkling under your eyelids, dark pit burning with desire in your abdomen. You were scared your heart would break through your ribcage, it was beating so hard, like it was trying to get close to Calum’s heart. 

He picked you up and sat on the desk, the difference in heights not so prominent now. You felt his hands on the small of your back, wondering when he pulled your shirt from under your jeans. With your leg around his hip you involuntary brought him even closer. His fingers were burning your skin up, you only detached your lips to take a short breath. 

“Please, stop,” you mumbled in one of the pauses like this.

“No,” he whispered back, his lips sliding down on your jawline, “haven’t touched you in too long.”

“It’s been just five days,” you managed to state between your moans, your hands already tugging on his shirt.

“Felt more like five years,” Calum groaned and moved back to you lips. 

He was kissing you hungrily, his hands deep in your hair, his eyes shut so hard there were crinkles around them. He was so soft and felt so much like home at that moment, that you couldn’t keep it inside anymore, all the stress of the last day leaning over you. Your eyes watered up and you failed to suppress the sniff. Calum stopped abruptly, feeling something was wrong. 

“Just stop, Calum,” you asked quietly. But there was no need, he wasn’t holding you anymore. 

You jumped of the desk and fixed your shirt with your shaking hands. Calum tried again to reach you, reassuring  _ ‘Hey’  _ falling off his lips. But you gained enough self-control to let this happen. You practically pushed him away, being met with sadness in his eyes. You knew he didn’t mean wrong. But you couldn’t let him have it. Not after what he did, not on his desk and not in the house full of wolves with perfect hearing. 

“Call off your wolf,” you didn’t ask this time.

Calum didn’t answer anything, not like you expected him to. You gave him another heavy look and left the room. 

The sound of your heels went around with an echo as you strode down the corridor. The wolves were still in the living room, looking at you with the mix of interest and judgement. You thought you saw another alpha having a ghost of a smile on his face, but you were too much in distress to look at him twice. As you headed to the front door, the lanky omega rose from his seat and made a few steps towards you. You stopped and looked back at him.

“Are you fucking serious?” you growled under your breath.

The guy lifted up his hands in a joking giving up gesture and stepped back to his armchair. 

You huffed and left without another word.

Calum came out to the living room after your car left. His movements were slow and careful.

Omega turned to him immediately. “I’m sorry, alpha, I-”

Calum stopped him with a gesture. “That’s okay, Andy. You wanna beer?”

Omega nodded and looked at the others wolves warily. Calum handed him a bottle and gestured to sit down with them. They sat there in silence for some time, everyone too scared to bother Calum, and Calum too deep into his own thoughts.

Ashton was the first to speak up. “You remember I said it’ll take some time?” he asked. 

Cal nodded.

“Well,” Ashton went on, giggling uncontrollably, “maybe it’ll take a little longer.”

***

Summer breeze was playing in your unruly hair, making them tickle on your cheeks. You spent the whole day on your little balcony, enjoying your book and the rare opportunity not to worry about anything. The serenity of the day relaxed all your tensed muscles and calmed down your mind. Worries of the past week died out inside as abruptly as they emerged, leaving nothing inside you besides the peaceful emptiness. You loved this state of yours, when all the emotions burnt down to the ashes and it felt like nothing in the whole world could ever worry you again. Of course, such calmness was the most temporary thing ever, but you were thankful even for a short break. You knew it wouldn’t last long.

Another wind blow brought you a familiar scent, marking the end of your emotionless pause. You sighed, mentally preparing to a new battle. You heard the car door close down on the street. You didn’t need to look to know it was him, but you did anyway. Calum looked up and saw you standing and watching him. He didn’t smile, as calm and serious as you were. Just looked at you before entering the building, a garment bag in his hand. You inhaled his scent deeper and went to open the door for him. You knew his visit wouldn’t probably end well, but you also knew there was no way out of it except through.

Calum entered your apartment a minute later. He was in a suit, navy blue button down a little stretched on his toned chest. He looked too good for your sanity. Sweat covered your palms, and you had to make an effort to steady your breath. You knew he felt how much of an effect he had on you, but he didn’t show it in any way. 

Instead he handed you the garment, “This is for you.”

“What is it?” you asked, standing still. 

Calum exhaled and put the bag on a hanger next to your door. “It’s a dress.”

“Why would I need a dress?” you asked in the same calm tone. You weren’t trying to provoke him or be a bitch about it. You just wanted to understand and get through it as fast as possible. 

“Because I want you to wear it and go with me to some event,” Calum explained. He put his hands in his pants’ pockets and was watching you intently, like he was trying to see something under your skin. “My pure blood is about to marry Ashton’s pureblood and today is the ceremony of giving her away to the other pack. I want you to go with me.”

“I’m not going there, Calum,” you shook your head. 

He took one hand out of the pocket and stroke his chin. You’d seen this gesture already, a little signal of him being nervous or thinking of what to do. 

“And before you go with all the angry alpha roars and decide to order me to go,” you continued, not giving him a chance to try to force you into it, “I’m not going, because I have nothing to do there. These are not my packs, Calum, I don’t know these people and, even though I do wish them all the happiness, I don’t wanna be at their party.”

“One of these packs is yours,” he said through gritted teeth.

You felt his anger in your spine, but ordered yourself not to react on it.

“No, it’s not.”

“You’re my omega and you’re…”

“But I am not your omega, Calum!” you exclaimed back, stressing every word. 

You thought that’d be it, the moment when you start shouting at each other, not capable of a civilized conversation anymore. The last time you shouted at each other popped up in your memory. Including the heated make-out session on Calum’s desk. Would this one end the same?

Instead of shouting, Calum slowly came up to you and asked, his voice calm, low and soft, “If you aren’t my omega, then why are you dripping for me already?” 

You stared at him, taken aback and having nothing to answer. You were dripping for him, your underwear soaking wet since the moment you saw Calum in that suit. But damn you if you admit that out loud. 

For better or for worse, Calum didn’t need your confirmation. His hand raised up to your face, caressed your cheek, then gripped the back of your neck and pulled you in. His lips were harsh and demanding, as his hands, clenching on your shoulders and leaving bruises on the pale skin. You tried to push him back, your hands pressed to his toned abdomen, teeth biting on his lower lip. His low roar, a reaction to your bite, set your blood on fire. His hands moved from your shoulders, one pressing hard on your back and the other sliding down to your butt and squeezing hard. You yelped in Calum’s mouth, when you felt his fingers slip between your butt cheeks and push into your wet core through your pj shorts and underwear. You tried to slither from that touch, raised to your tip toes and somehow ended up practically hanging on him, only easing everything for his fingers. You felt Calum smirk, not stopping kissing you feverishly, and groaned in displease. No matter what you were doing, it all was somehow helping him. 

You lifted your hands higher and sank your nails into the skin of his neck. Calum lost his breath as your fingers slipped down to his collar, leaving red scratches. You smiled, feeling a little better at your small revenge, picked up the hem of his suit jacket and pulled it off his shoulders. You didn’t want to sleep with Calum, you knew it’d only mess everything even more. But fuck it if you could stop now, when he was sucking on your neck so damn good. 

Calum let go of your body to help you with his jacket, but a moment later his hands went back. One was clasping on your hip and another slipped under the waistband of your shorts and panties, getting where it was before, but with no cover stopping him now. Calum had to lean forward a little for his hand to get to your clit, making you forget how to breath in the process. But that gave you some space to pay him back, as you didn’t waste much time and unbuckled his belt, unzipped his pants and let your hand sank down into his underwear, gripping on his already half hard cock. 

“Still thinking you’re not mine?” Calum chuckled, getting back to kissing your lips. Instead of answering, you just squeezed his dick, not afraid of using your nails, feeling it getting harder in your hand. You brought your thighs together, turned on more at how you were turning him on more, and added to the pressure his fingers were producing on your clit. Calum chuckled again and detached his lips from yours, one of his hands pressing on your shoulder. You looked up at him and felt your body trying to sink down under his silent command. You tried to refuse, shaking your head, and scratched with your nail alone his slit. He nodded with the same smirk on his face and pushed you down more. Your knees betrayed you and you finally sank down. You hated the power he had over you and loved it to death. 

Your hands pulled his pants down, your tongue licked on him through the soft material of the underwear, to your surprise, white this time. And you thought he only wore black. His dickhead was peeking out of the waistband, red and leaking precum. You felt your mouth filling with spit at the mere view. Calum pulled your hair up in one hand as in an improvised ponytail and pushed your head towards his dick. You put your hands on his thighs and pulled away, not giving in so easily. You looked up at him, devilish smile on your lips. 

“Aren’t you one damn stubborn she-wolf?” Calum mused back, tugged down on his underwear with his free hand and lined up his dick for you. You shook your head again, same smile on your lips. He wasn’t smiling anymore, his eyes full of anger and lust. He pushed your head closer, making you almost crash into his crotch. You took his dick and let it slide on your cheek, the touch is light and almost innocent. You lightly pecked his head on the way back and looked back up at him. 

Calum bent down to you and roared through his greeted in anger teeth, “You think it’ll help you, being such a fucking tease?” he shook his head in displease and then added in a low alpha voice, “Open your mouth!”

You couldn’t fight his order and so you obeyed, watching him dip his cock in your mouth. You gulped at how deep he went. You only had so much time to get a little air before he sank in again. You held on his thighs and tried to get used to the fast rhythm. Calum was practically fucking your face, like punishing for denying him all this time. You heard low moans falling off his lips, sinful sounds making the fire inside you burn brighter. You were so whipped for him, even now, being pushed on your knees, being forced in sucking him off, being fucking hard in your mouth, you were enjoying that. Just because it was your alpha, you could be that obedient just for him. 

You felt him letting go of your hair carefully. You pushed back to take a breath, but curled your lips around his dick the moment later and kept bopping your head in the same rhythm. He stroked your cheek, whispering, “That’s my omega. Look how good you’re for me.” You couldn’t help your smile, looking up at him. Calum smiled back and started unbuttoning his shirt. The sight of his bare chest peeking out from under the shirt made you moan from desire, the vibration of you throat drawing a hiss from Calum. You pushed one hand down your shorts and pressed two fingers to your clit. The sensation was so hard, you moaned again around his dick and scratched it with you teeth slightly. 

Calum groaned loudly from your teeth and looked down, trying to see what got you so worked up. He shrugged off his shirt, smiling at the sight of your hand going fast in your shorts, and bent down to you, pulling on your hair again, making you let go of his dick and look up at him. With your mouth open and gaping for air and lips glistering with your spit you looked so unholy, he had to make an effort to keep his moan back. Instead he held on your face, fingers pressing on your cheeks. 

“Shall I cum on your face and leave you without your release for those sharp teeth of yours?” he asked, his sight slipping to your hand pleasuring yourself.

“No, alpha,” you sobbed quietly, his face blurry in front of you, all your focus on your clit. 

He smirked and, giving a light slap to your cheek, ordered, “Hands up.”

You whined at a loss of the contact, but obeyed. Calum pulled your top up, hissing at the sight of your bare tits and pushed you on your back. You fell down on your elbows, watching him freeing you from your shorts and underwear in one move. You widened your legs, making sure your dripping pussy was right in front of him. You almost laughed at how he was looking at you. 

“Can’t live without that cunt now, can you?” you asked, your voice full of mocking.

He looked at your face, growling lowly. Then grippen on your legs and pulled closer to him, hard wooden floor painful to your back. He spread you even more, lifting your legs on his forearms and, leaning down, sank into you to the bottom. 

“And can you live without that dick?” he asked, enjoying your face, eyes rolled up and mouth opened, you lost for breath. 

He pushed again, not giving you any time to adjust, you let out a long moan. Then he pushed again, just as deep. You felt his balls slapping on you, floorboards hitting hard on your body only adding to the pleasure. Calum huffed, going on faster and fasted on your, until your moans went into continuous wheezes, the only sounds you were capable of now. 

A strand of hair fell on Calum’s forehead. He tried to shake it off, but it stuck in a sweat. You raised your hand up, pushing the strain from his face, making him look at you. You left your hand on his cheek, eyes not leaving him for the moment. You couldn’t say who started kissing who first, you hugged on his neck and pressed him even more into yourself.

“God, you drive me fucking mad,” he whispered between heated kisses, not slowing down his pushes into your. “How d’you do this to me?”

His lips sank on your neck, you felt his teeth leaving little marks on your skin. Your heart was beating so fast, legs started shaking. You felt your orgasm coming and closed your eyes concentrating on the feeling of him moving inside of you. You had no time to warn him, your release crushing you hard. “Fuck, keep squeezing,” you heard like from under the water, lost in your own pleasure. You felt Calum going a little faster, pounding into you with all the frustration he had, until he gained his release, coating your insides and roaring into your shoulder. 

You had no idea how much time it took for the both of you to gain consciousness again, a minute or an eternity. Calum tried to lift himself off you as he came, but you gripped on his neck, forcing him to press you to the floor with his weight. Eventually he rolled off you, pressing a light kiss to your shoulder before that. He sat up and pulled on his underwear and pants, tangled around his ankles all this time. 

“Mind if I smoke?” he asked as he finished with fixing his pants.

You shook your head. Calum fetched himself a cigarette and lay back down, taking a drag. 

You wolf senses were in an overdrive. You heard water leaking out of a tap in an apartment above yours, kids shouting on a playground on the other side of the building. Could smell the gas on the street and Calum’s shaving lotion. 

“How can you live here?” Calum asked, apparently being bothered with too many noises and smells too. 

You shrugged, “Just switch my senses off.”

Calum smirked, “Still moments when you can’t do it that easily.” He handed you his cigarette. “Wanna drag?”

“Not smoking,” you answered, sitting up. 

Calum felt the change in your mood, his hand stroking your bare back. “We can’t go on like that,” he said, his voice low.

“Can’t offer you anything else,” you shrugged. “Fuck me as much as you want, Calum, it doesn’t change anything.”

Calum sighed, finishing his cigarette, and stood up. He picked up his shirt and put it on, looked around for the suit jacket, took it from the floor and stepped to the door.

“Forgot the dress,” you told him, still sitting on the floor completely naked. 

Calum looked back at you, his eyes drained of emotions. “It’s a present,” he dropped and left.

***

Lights hanging from the cedars branches were making this place look like a scene from a fairytale. Calum took another look at the future bride and thought, how fairytale was exactly what Gabbie deserved. She was so beautiful in her pale blue dress and looked so happy, Calum couldn’t help but feel his heart clench with pain. He was beyond happy for her. And still he was losing a loyal wolf tonight. 

The ceremony of betrothal was beautiful and light. Calum persuaded Ashton to take the honor of conducting it and couldn’t be more right about it. Ashton’s joyful temper and his love for silly jokes made this evening as troubleless as it was supposed to be. And Calum was more than happy with his role of giving Gabbie away at the soon wedding, instead of her long late father. 

Now people were just having fun, two packs living in such close connection that most of the times it felt like one big pack, where everyone knew and loved each other. Kids and young wolves were dancing and messing around, making older laugh and mock them. Some couples were sneaking deeper in the woods, risking of troubling the patrol. Guards, who were free from service today, were gathered in a small group away from the centre of a party with water and non-alcoholic beers in hands. Calum looked down at the same bottle in his hand. 

“Not fair, huh?” asked Ashton coming up to Calum, nursing a glass of water. “It’s our own party and we can’t even relax.”

Calum shrugged. He came to terms with his duties long ago and didn’t see much trouble in it. “Life of an alpha,” he said, taking a sip from his bottle. “And it’s not our party, it’s Gabbie and Peter’s.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ashton frowned, “still.”

They stood like that for some time, observing their wolves having great time and feeling same satisfaction with their lives. That was what they were living for after all, to take care of their packs.

“You have a scratch on your neck, by the way,” Ashton noted after some time. “Got in a fight with a nasty branch?”

Calum let out a humourless laugh. “I know you can smell her on me. Why asking?”

Ashton shrugged, “Just giving you some privacy, mate.”

“Wanted to bring her here,” Calum explained. “But she refused. Again.”

Ashton only laughed to that.

“Seriously, Ash, what’s so entertaining in this for you?” 

Ashton snorted, not able to hold back anymore. “I’m sorry, it’s just-” he broke, taking a deep breath and calming himself down. “Don’t you see the irony?”

“What irony?” Cal scowled even more.

“Remember how you never bothered with omegas?” Ashton went on, explaining. “Said, you hated how obedient to you they were and how never cared about anything but flattering you? Well, I think you found the only omega in the whole world who doesn’t want to obey to you, and she’s your mate. I’m sorry, Cal, but that’s hilarious!” 

Ashton giggled as he finished and Calum couldn’t help laughing with him. As difficult as his situation was, Ashton was somehow right. 

But their laughter died out the very next moment. Calum turned back to the woods behind him, he heard some movement and didn’t like it at all. Ashton’s low roar next to him only proved him right. Two alphas stood still, watching and listening to the darkness. 

Calum understood everything first, the moment before a pair of yellow eyes became visible between trees. 

“We’re under attack!” his voice went above the party like a thunderstorm, bringing everything in movement. Packs, chaotic at the first sight, started acting like a clockwork mechanism. 

Guard, lead by purebloods of both packs, stood right behind Calum, bottles dropped to the ground, followed by jackets and ties. Ashton stepped back, organizing male betas in a circle around the kids and women, his task to protect the weakest in the pack. Calum heard his friend order Gabbie and Pete to stay with him, and to his own satisfaction heard no objections from Gabbie. He looked around, taking in the number of wolves under his direct command and started taking his clothes off, preparing to shift. He roared, seeing more and more wolves coming from the woods. He shook his head and shifted, his guards howling to him. Those fuckers chose the wrong night to attack his pack, he thought. He bent down on his front paws and prepared for a jump. 

***

You were rereading the same page for the third time already, but the meaning kept slipping away from you. You huffed and started from the beginning, trying to concentrate on the plot. Couple minutes later the book flew to the wall, followed by your irritated groan. 

It’s been hours since Calum left. You took a shower after it and cleaned the floor where you were lying and settled on your couch with a book in a feeble attempt to get him out of your mind. But, of course, Calum was the only one you could think about.

You kept replaying his earlier visit in your head. Not the sex scene, unexpectedly rough and filthy, for which you couldn’t blame him. You knew you made him go so hard on you, your stubbornness used to drive wolves with even stronger self-control mad. And you were not opposed to rough sex too, so that part didn’t bother you at all. What bothered you was his request and the way he left you after. You couldn’t help but ask yourself, if that was possible for Calum to actually be that alpha.

He demanded you to go with him, yes. But he never ordered. He knew you couldn’t disobey, yet he still didn’t use his power. He got angry with you, but never forced you. Like he wanted it to be your choice. He needed it to be your choice and not his command. Even in sex, when he was forcing you to get on your knees and ordering to open your mouth, you were pretty sure, you say no out loud at least once and he’d stopped. You knew he respected you enough for that. 

So you kept asking yourself. Him being the alpha who wants you to follow him by choice and not only the instinct, could he be the alpha you’d finally choose to follow? Maybe you’d be able to obey him? Knowing he respected you and took you as a partner and not a slave. Could it be that your alpha mate was also the alpha you’d agree to bent to? You shook your head, which was blowing up with questions without answers. You knew him well already, but you still didn’t know enough.

All of the sudden everything around went black. You felt excruciating pain in your ribs, like something was breaking them from the inside. You heard a deafening shriek, full of fear and despair, and only a moment later you understood it was you, who cried. You closed your eyes and felt wet ground under your paws, the smell of pines and the taste of your blood in your mouth. Only you knew your own blood really tasted different. Your broken ribs were scratching on your left lung with every breath you took. You had a deep bite on your back paw and you were losing consciousness fast. 

You came up to the surface of your illusion. Your body covered in thick sweat, pain still burning on your rib cage. You knew it was Calum. He was somewhere in the forest, hurt and in danger. You tried to think of something logical to do, but all the logic went out of the window under the pressure of your instincts. You almost fell on the floor, your legs were shaking so hard, you held on your left side with one hand. You were positive your ribs were totally fine, still it was impossible to move normally. You slid your feet in the flip-flops you saw near and picked up you keys on the way out. You didn’t care you were wearing the old pj’s or had a messy bun on your head. You gave no fuck about anything right now, except of your alpha needing you. 

You emerged from the building entrance, rushing to your car as fast as you could with the feeling of broken ribs. You pressed a button on your key, your car signaled shortly, when the other thing you couldn’t expect happened. You heard your name being called behind you. 

You turned back abruptly and stared at the wolf in front of you. 

He was taller than you remembered, shoulders more broad and hair shorter. But you couldn’t help recognizing him. You knew him all your life after all.

“Matt?” you called, your voice feeble and shaky.

He nodded, taking in your appearance. Your mind was rushing around, jumping from one thought to another.  _ How could he find you here, you spent so much time, hiding your tracks. Calum was in danger, you had to go. Did your father send Matt or your brother? You couldn’t waste any more time. Why was Matt looking at you so intensely? You really had to go. _

“How did you find me?” you finally asked.

Matt shrugged, “It wasn’t easy.” He thought a little and added, “You weren’t the best of us for nothing after all.”

You shivered visibly. You felt danger, but couldn’t understand, was it your fear for Calum or was the danger you felt coming from Matt. You stepped back to your car.

“I’m sorry, Matt, I have to go,” you told him. 

“You haven’t seen me in ten years and that’s all I got,” he smirked, looking around. “Don’t even wanna know why I took all that trouble looking for you?”

You sighed.”I really have no time right now, Matt. It’s a matter of life and death. We’ll talk later.”

He chuckled to that. “Was afraid, omega instincts would change you, but no, you’re still the same bossy little wolf you were.” 

You frowned to that, opening the driver’s door.

“You do wanna talk with me, trust me!” he tried one more time. 

“I told you, Matt, we’ll talk. Just not now.”

You couldn’t bear it anymore, pain driving you insane. You started the car, throwing the last look at the man from your past. 

“You smell of another wolf,” you heard in the open window. You didn’t look back. It didn’t matter, he didn’t matter. 

You took a deep breath and let your senses lead you, not giving another thought to where you were going. You left the living area and turned to the narrow road between the trees. Fifteen minutes later you saw lights in front of you. It looked like there was a party here, but people, mostly kids and women, weren’t having fun. Tables and decorations were thrown around like by a small tornado, people’s clothes dirty and ripped. There was no music, voices not louder than whisper.

You parked and got out of your car, heading to the centre of the scene. You inhaled deeply, feeling his scent everywhere. He was here not so long ago. Was he in the woods now? You looked around in search for anyone to ask. If these were Calum’s wolves, they could have known something. 

You saw him gathering the younger kids together, the guy from the yoghurt aisle. It seemed like he wasn’t looking at you on purpose, doing everything for you not to see him. Too bad you already did.

“Hey, you, the yoghurt guy!” you called him, coming closer. 

The omega handed kids to the young female pure blood, who eyed you with suspicion, and turned to you.

“First, my name is Andy,” he said. “Second, the hell you need here?”

You would lie if you said you weren’t taken aback by his attitude. You frowned, getting you were quite too bossy for calling on a wolf who wasn’t even from your pack. 

“Where’s Calum?” you asked in a slightly softer tone, your hand still clenching on your side. The pain wasn’t burning so bright anymore, which thankfully let you think. But it was still there, not letting you care about anything else until you find Calum.

Andy shook his head, bitter smirk on his face. “Obviously, not here.”

You huffed and tried to go from the other side, “What happened here?”

The omega just shook his head again, not bothering even with saying anything. He turned to go away from you. You grabbed on his arm and made him look back. “You alpha is out there somewhere in pain and probably unconscious. You better answer me right now,” you hissed under your voice. You tried to be polite, you gave him the chance. Not your fault he chose the hard way.

“How do you know he’s in pain?” Andy looked at you with the same mix of suspicion and displease in his eyes, but a small trace of worry in his voice let you know, you got him.

You sighed, thinking of what you could possibly say to this to make that wolf believe you. “Cause I’m his mate,” you finally answered, settling for truth. 

You saw the shadow of understanding in his eyes, him finally getting why Calum would ask him to follow you. He huffed, looking away, and already opened his mouth to answer you, when some rustle from the woods distracted you. You saw the grown wolves rounding kids and teens, you were slightly surprised by how well their protection skills were trained. You instinctively stepped in front of them, finding Andy and the pure blood girl you’ve seen before next to you. 

When the wolves came out from under the cedars, you felt everyone relax a little. An alpha, whose smell you recognized and five more pure bloods were leading a big group of she-wolves and young pups. You saw some wolves in human shape running to their friends and probably relatives and hugging on the furry necks. The female pure blood, who was just standing next to you, ready to fight, kneeled down to the brown-furred wolf and stroke his back, human eyes looking straight into wolf’s. You turned away from this intimate scene, feeling uncomfortable, like you were peeping through a hole. 

An alpha shifted aside of you, all women instantly looked back. All except of you. Andy was already handing him some pants. Alpha thanked him and turned to you. 

“What are you doing here?” he asked. His tone wasn’t hostile, he was asking purely to get an answer, not to show you weren’t welcome here.

Still, you had no time for this. “Where’s Calum?” you asked him back. 

Alpha frowned, looking around and then turning to Andy, “They didn’t come back?”

Andy shook his head, his eyebrows furrowed. Alpha looked around again, silently counting on pure bloods and guards around, some already shifting back into human forms, some staying wolves. “But they should have come already,” he mused out loud. “He, Luke and Mike left first to clear the way. They should have been in front of us.”

“Ashton, you were the only ones who came back,” Andy said.

Ashton, as Andy called him, turned back at you, being even more at a loss than you were. 

“Why are you here?” he asked again and immediately added, seeing your irritated frown, “I mean, how are you here? Why are you looking for him?”

You sighed, clenching on your side, “I felt his pain.”

“You what?” Ashton asked, your words probably the last he was expecting.

“I felt his pain,” you repeated, getting tired of this talk, feeling burning in your ribs increase with every moment of your delay. “He’s got two or three broken ribs, scratched, maybe already torn lung and a serious bite on his back paw. And he’s unconscious, from what I can feel.”

Ashton was looking at you quizzically, like you were speaking some other language he didn’t understand. “Do you have your mating mark?” he finally asked.

“No,” you answered, wondering where that question came from.

“You don’t have your mating mark, yet you can feel his pain as your own,” he stated, looking at the side you were still caressing. “Damn, you’re more stubborn than I thought.”

You scoffed, “Can we actually concentrate on the fact, that Calum is still out there injured and in danger?”

“Right, sorry,” Ashton rubbed his forehead. “We were having a party, which you so eloquently chose to ignore, when they attacked us. Cal took the guards and fought back, as usual. The fight moved deeper in the forest, Cal always tries to push attackers away from the pack. We thought, it was okay and then men with guns came. They took women and kids and, of course, we shifted and followed them, most of the guard following us.We fought our people back pretty easily, Cal said he’d go forward and clear the way. It was probably just a trap. They only wanted him.”

“Who wanted him?” 

“The Ripper,” you heard the answer from Andy this time, he was looking guilty for some reason.

“Is it some lame nickname or what?” you frowned, not getting the joke.

“He calls himself Ripper absolutely seriously. He’s an alpha of the biggest pack in the south. They with Cal have had bad blood for some time,” Ashton explained to you. 

“Whatever,” you shrugged, that information was just as useless for you. You actually needed just one thing. “Where can I find them?”

“That’s the problem,” Ashton chuckled, “you can’t. They don’t have any kind of base.” 

“Okay,” you nodded, “where did you see them last then?”

“In the northern part of the woods, closer to the town border.”

You nodded again, turned north and took off your top. All the wolves looked away like by the order. 

“The fuck are you doing?” you heard Ashton hiss behind you. 

“I’m going to get him,” you shrugged, like it was the most obvious thing ever. You stepped out of your flip-flops and took off your shorts and panties. 

“You can’t go there! We don’t even know where exactly they are. We don’t know anything!”

You looked back at Ashton, who looked at your side, all blue and purple from the bruise you had there. “The only thing I can’t do is stay here, while he’s there. Anything else I can.”

“Cal’s gonna kill everybody for seeing you like this,” Ashton muttered, shaking his head, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

“Why are you still looking then, Ashton?” you asked with a smirk and shifted. 

It took a couple moments for you to find your balance again. You heard Ashton curse behind you, taking his pants off. “Guard goes with me!” he called out. “Gabbie, Andy, you too. Jeff, divide everybody in groups and send home, all the kids and she-wolves stay with their group leaders until me or Calum come back. No one follows us no matter what! That’s an order!”

You sniffed the ground around, hearing wolves shift behind you, but there were too many tracks to chose one you needed. So you closed your eyes and let your pain show you the way. The pack lined up behind you, naturally choosing you as their lead, even Ashton slowing down his pace. And it just felt so right. Like you were sixteen again, hunting at night on the Lakes, your future pure bloods behind you, ready to fulfill your any order. But it wasn’t a child game anymore, the pain reminded you. 

_ How do you know where you’re going? _ you heard inside your head.

You turned right and looked at Ashton, his dark brown fur looked almost red in the moonlight. 

_ I’m his mate, that’s how. _

_ But you haven’t submitted to him, that just doesn't work like that _ , he mumbled in your head.

You didn’t answer anything to that. You had no idea how it was supposed to work, but also had nothing against the way it was working now. If not for that bound, you wouldn’t know something was wrong with Calum.

You were running through the woods for some time, when you suddenly stopped in front of the tiny spring and started pacing along it in distress. The wolves ran forward and were coming back in circles around you.

_ What happened? _ Ashton asked treadding closer.

_ Can’t go further _ , you explained, feeling something stopping you and not letting cross the spring.

_ What? Why? _

You huffed, looking around. It was a damn good question.

_ Let me guess _ , you said, _ we’re at the town border? _

Ashton confirmed, wolves around him getting impatient.

_ Fucking shit _ , you hissed.  _ Calum prohibited me to leave the town. _

_ Okay, stay here _ _ ,  _ Ashton agreed far too easily.  _ Less worries I’ll let my best friend’s mate die out of her stupidity. _

_ Don’t even count on that _ _ ,  _ you stopped your pacing and brought up the memory of the pain you felt at first. The feeling of the ribs being broken, the fragile membranes of a lung being injured. All the despair and anger, you felt it all over again, letting the pain flood your mind, seeing red and not remembering anything besides pain, pain, pain...

You jumped over the spring and rushed forward in an attempt to run from all of that. Breaking your alpha’s order felt like breaking your spine, each backbone separately, but that didn’t change anything, your body already in too much pain to notice that. You heard the wolves following you suit, howls sounded behind you. You sank deeper into your wolf’s nature, feeling the pain step back and free some space for the animal instincts. 

Soon the run was over, you came out to the abandoned industrial looking building on the outskirts of the woods. Ashton came up to you again.

_ Alright, let’s say, four wolves go first and take over the watch if there’s any. Then we send… _

You didn’t let him finish, jumping out of your shelter and rushing to the closest window. You heard Ashton ordered his pure bloods to protect you at any cost and felt them reaching you as fast as they could. You jumped into the window, which didn’t have any glass in it for what seemed like a decade at least.

It was shabby and dark inside. Smells of rot and dirt made you huff. You treadded down the hall, peeking around the corner. Two wolves were there, guarding the door to the other part of the building. You couldn’t even call that a room, the borders of it more of a metaphorical type in the ruins of it all. You had no time to even think what wolf to start with, as two pure bloods passed you and jumped each their own wolf. You strode past them and entered a much wider space. Was here a factory or something? You could see a weak light on the other side of the hall and rushed towards in, more wolves at your side. 

You didn’t see where these other wolves appeared from. One moment you were peacefully running to your goal, surrounded by your guard, and the next you found yourself in a middle of a wolves’ fight. You checked, that Ashton had more wolves than those who were attacking you, and speed up. They had they work, you had yours. 

The room wasn’t empty, just as you hoped. You saw Calum lying away still in his wolf shape. His beautiful black fur was covered in dirt and blood, his eyes were closed. But he was breathing, and for now that was enough. You turned to the man standing above him. A wolf in his human shape, holding a gun in his hand. You growled, stepping inside the room. The man looked at you.

“And the fuck are you?” he asked, stepping away from Cal and turning his gun at your. “This pack had no blue-eyed sluts, I’d known already,” he informed you, like you cared at all. 

You saw big scar running across his face, from his chin to the hairline. That was Ripper, you understood.

_ Please, just don’t do anything stupid _ _ ,  _ you heard Ashton asking behind you. 

“And the loyal best friend, just as I expected,” Ripper smiled, looking at Ashton. “What a lucky day. Will finally kill you both and have two packs to myself.”

You looked around the room while that dickhead was talking. Calum was far enough for you not to hurt him in the process. The bulb hanging rather low was the only source of light for Ripper. You scoffed, looking back at him. What a wolf would chose a humans’ weapon over his claws and fangs? He truly deserved everything you were about to do to him.

_ Go right _ _ , _ you told Ashton. 

He sniffed, not looking at you, displeased to get an order from an omega, but suppressed his nature and did as you said. Ripper, just as you thought, followed his movement, not thinking much of you. No one ever thought much of an omega.

_ As I jump, run behind his back and wait there _ _ , _ you instructed him. 

_ I’m not gonna hide, he owes me too much. _

_Okay, stay where you are and catch a bullet,_ you mentally rolled your eyes. Always the same story with alphas. _Was nice knowing you, Ashton._

And with that you jumped. Not at Ripper, you aimed at the bulb. It started swinning, shadows jumping on the wall, making it look like a dozen black devils were dancing around the room. As you expected, Ripper started shooting instantly. With satisfaction you noticed that Ashton whisked behind Ripper’s back. You were jumping in crankles, bending to the ground and trying not to catch a bullet yourself. You pushed off the wall in your last vault and aimed to Rippers hand with the gun. You knew you had close to no chances to avoid it, heard the gunshot when you were already in the air. Your teeth clenched around Ripper’s wrist at the same moment the bullet sank into your flesh. You heard the bones crunch and hoped those weren’t yours. Ripper shouted and tried to shake you off, the gun feel to the floor and shot one last time. 

_ Any holes in you yet? _ you asked Ashton as you landed on your paws in front of the yelling bastard and prepared to the next jump. 

_ Nope, you? _

You didn’t answer, feeling the burning in your right paw. You jumped again, this time sinking your teeth in Ripper’s soft throat. Even his blood tasted disgusting, you thought, letting his body fall and thumping on his chest. He gurgled with his own blood for couple minutes more and finally died. 

_ You’re bleeding _ , said Ashton, coming closer and sniffing your paw.

_ Just a scratch. _

The sounds of the fight were getting lower, Ashton’s wolves kicked away all the wolves of Ripper, as you understood. You looked at Calum, still lying in the far corner of the room. You heart clenched with worry for him and you stomach churned at the thought of what you were about to do. Not like you had that much of a choice, there was only one way of preventing anything like that happen again. You jumped on the Ripper’s breathless body and started tearing on his clothes with your claws. As you were done with fabric, you plunged your claws into his still warm chest. You helped with your fangs, opening his chest up, making sure blood splashed all around you. 

_The fuck are you…_ you heard Ashton’s voice in your head, but blocked it. You knew how it looked like, but you had to do it. 

As you broke through the ribcage, you snatched his heart and ripped it out of his chest, dropping it on the floor nearby. One lung was thrown to the opposite wall, the other to the entrance. You were going on consistently, stomach, liver, both kidneys, his guts, throwing his insides around like in a crazy ritual. You glanced around, as you finished, checking the result. Just the type of picture Ripper deserved, you concluded, shifting back in your human form.

Blood was covering the most of your front and the pain in your arm grew stronger, no animals instincts to suppress that now. You heard Ashton shifting behind you, as you came up to Calum.

“Why would you do that?” Ashton asked, glancing in disgust at the scene you left. 

You carefully took Calum’s snout in your hands, feeling his warm steady breath on your palm. You saw something gleaming in the fur of his neck, stretched your left arm and pulled out a dart. 

“Why would you do that?” Ashton demanded an answer, towering over you.

“To leave a message,” you explained calmly. “And for your information, your alpha voice doesn’t work on me. Look here,” you added, showing him a dart. “He was sedated.”

Ashton nodded, “That explains it all. Cal would never be taken down so easily.”

You dropped the dart and stroke Calum’s neck, his black fur stinky, but still beautiful. 

“Can anybody of your men steal a car?” you asked Ashton, not looking up at him.

“I can,” you heard from the entrance.

You with Ashton both glanced there to find Andy gaping at the scene in the room.

“You said they came in a car,” you said, turning to Ashton again. “If we’re lucky, that car is not far from here. Please, be careful while carrying him there, his lung is fine for now and I’d much rather it stays like that.”

Ashton unexpectedly snorted. You looked at his face in confusion, trying to avoid looking at more intimate parts of his body.

“I thought Cal was exaggerating when he said you were a born alpha. But I see he meant every word he said,” he explained. You smiled shyly, hearing not judgement in Ashton’s voice, but more of a surprise and amusement. 

He turned back to Andy. “Did you find Luke and Mike?”

“Yeah, they were also sedated,” Andy confirmed and then continued with a smirk. “Lara almost bit off the heads of the wolves who were keeping them.”

“Women ripping throats for their wolves,” Ashton chuckled, looking around. “Tell me about it.”

“Andy, please, bring couple more men to take Calum,” you broke into their little conversation. 

You heard omega’s bare feet slopping on the concrete floor. 

“Please, take care of him,” you asked Ashton quietly. 

He looked at you, frown on his face. “What do you mean? You’re going with us.”

You shook your head. “I need to take care of the others,” you answered. 

Three pure bloods entered the room. You stood up and took several steps from the Calum’s body to give them more space. They lifted your alpha and left without saying anything out loud, only Ashton’s head nodding told you they communicated differently. 

Ashton looked back at you. “They’ve gone, my wolves took care of that.”

“They will come back as soon as you leave, to see what happened to their alpha,” you retorted. “They can feel his death, but they’ll come back to check.”

“Calum is against killing,” Ashton still tried to talk you round. “And I agree with him.”

You looked at the alpha, quirking an eyebrow. “I don’t need them dead, Ashton, that’d be a stupid waste of resource. I need them alive and scared shitless, so they can take a word about a crazy wolf protecting the town and ripping alphas’ throats as far as possible. So no one ever crosses your borders without thinking twice beforehand.” 

Ashton smiled. “You  _ are  _ crazy,” he agreed, “but I like it. I’ll see you later.”

You watched him shift and run away from the room stinking of blood and dirty flesh. You shifted back into a wolf too and sat on the floor, preparing to wait. 

***

Calum opened his eyes, squinted and closed them again. The light wasn’t bright, only a table lamp under a grey lamp shade on, but it was still difficult for him to look. His head was hurting from the sedatives, as he thought. The dull pain in his side signaling of his ribs healing up. He couldn’t remember when he’d shifted back in the human form, but decided it was for the better, imagining the pain shock from the broken ribs. 

He listened to the sounds in the house, ground floor full of his pure bloods and some other wolves. He found Ashton and asked, concentrating his hardest on their mental bond,  _ Have we lost anyone? _

Calum sensed Ashton’s smile. _ You’re one lucky bastard, mate _ _ ,  _ his friend drawled with a giggle.  _ Both packs are safe. Welcome back to the world of living! _

Calum thanked his friend and gave couple of orders to his wolves and then turned to the little frame on his left.

You were the first thing he sensed as he woke. Not the pain, not the dizziness. You. 

You were sitting on the floor, your head on your crossed arms next to his hand, fast asleep. Your right shoulder tight up in bandages made Calum frown, questioning, where could you get it. You were in Calum’s clothes, too big for you and only accenting how delicate you were. No makeup on your face, little frown between your eyebrows. Calum wondered, what was bothering you in your dream. You were the most precious creature Calum has ever seen in his life, mating bond or not. You were the best thing in his life. And that’s why he had to let you go, no matter how much he was aching from that decision. 

You stirred soon, too soon for Calum’s liking, and raised your head, sleepy eyes shining with joy at the sight of Calum.

“How do you feel?” you asked, pushing some hair from his forehead. 

“Like I was beaten up and sedated,” Calum answered with a smirk.

“Pretty accurate,” you smiled at him.

He looked at your shoulder, “Where’s that from?”

You shrugged, “Don’t worry, it’s just a scratch.”

You just sat there, looking at him, basking in the serenity of the moment. Although, you felt Calum had something on his mind.

“Have you been here long?” he asked finally.

“Almost since you were brought back,” you answered, omitting how much of an  _ almost  _ and looking at the dark skies outside his windows, “which has been a day already, I think.”

“Sorry for worrying you,” Calum mumbled, stroking his chin. 

“No worries, I knew you’re tough enough,” you shrugged, sensing there was more to his apologies, than just worrying you with his injury.

“I can’t do this to you anymore, love,” he whispered, looking at your hands on his bed covers. “I can’t force you into being mine.”

“What?” you exhaled, looking at him in shock.

Calum met your eyes and said, “You can leave the town now. Can go away if you want. I won’t be bothering you and won’t try to stop you if you decide to move away.” He sighed and went on, while you were trying to comprehend his words, your brain went numb suddenly. “And I’m sorry for what happened in your apartment yesterday. You didn’t deserve such attitude, and I’m really sorry that I tried to force you into it with sex.” 

You kept gaping at him in total disbelief, feeling a mindblowing mix of fury and adoration raising inside you. 

“You’re such a fucking idiot, Calum!” you whispered, shaking your head. “You haven’t understood, have you? It’s never been up to you if I stay or go. I’m here, because I want to be.”

He looked at you just as surprised as you were, looking at him a minute ago. 

“Don’t you wanna know how exactly your pack found you?” you asked, feeling the anger overcome all the tenderness you had for your alpha.

“They tracked me down,” he shrugged, giving you the most obvious answer. 

You huffed, pushed off the bed and lifted his shirt you were wearing, not caring if you were showing off your breast. His eyes found what you revealed for him fast enough. You saw his plump lips round in a silent ‘oh’. 

“Where’s that from?” he asked, as you lowered the shirt.

“That’s from your broken ribs,” you said what he was already proceeding. 

“But this is…”

“Imposible? Yeah, guess our mating bond went a little deeper than anyone’s expected,” you huffed.

Calum looked up at you again, his eyes are even more full of sorrow than before. “You felt it?”

“All of it,” you confirmed, not trying to sugarcoat it for him. “I was the one to find you, Calum. I broke your fucking order not to leave the city to come for you and trust me when I say that shit hurt almost as much as your broken ribs. I caught a bullet for you. Hell, I killed for you, Calum. Not for you to tell me to leave now,” you finished.

“You killed someone?” he asked, completely taken aback by your tirade. “Who?”

“The Ripper guy, or what was his name,” you shrugged, showing it was the least important thing right now. 

Calum shook his head, muttering, “Unbelievable.”

You shrugged again, “He was standing over you with a loaded gun, not like I had much of a choice there.”

“I’m not saying he didn’t deserve it,” Calum said, his voice slightly defensive, “I’m just surprised, is all.”

“Well, would gladly do it again, if I could,” you growled, pouting and crossing your arms on the chest and instantly wincing from the pain in your side and arm.

Calum huffed and with an effort sat up, leaning on the headboard.

“Hey, no no no, lie back down, your ribs are still…” you tried to stop him, your pout immediately forgotten.

“Comere,” he motioned on the bed, interrupting your mumbling. 

“You need rest,” you protested, your voice weak. You wanted to come closer to him, to feel his hands on your. But the memory of his wounds and the pain he went through was still fresh.

“Bring your pretty ass up here!” he snapped at you.

You sighed and sat up on the bed as careful not to touch him as you could. Calum rolled his eyes at this, leaned forward, flinching at the pain in his body, grabbed your arm and pulled, making you straddle his lap. He hugged you with both hands, buried his face in your hair, which probably smelled of his shampoo, and finally relaxed.

“Thank you,” he whispered, “for coming for me and saving me. Though, I’d rather you didn’t need to kill anyone for me.”

“He had it coming, threatening my alpha,” you whispered back with a smile.

“You’re a maddening, maddening woman,” Calum sighed into the crook of your neck.

You sat like that for some time, holding each other and tasting the lack of heartache between the two of you. No hard thoughts, no regrets poisoning your bond anymore. You caressed his head, his hair soft under your touch, and looked at him. His lips were too close not to touch them, just once, only for a moment. The kiss grew deeper, soon you were diving in it, making your lungs ache for air. Calum’s arms squeezed your frame, making you writhe from the pain and still asking for more. Soon you felt him getting harder under you.

“Calum, stop,” you asked, it took all of your restrain to detach your lips from his.

He shook his head, reaching for you, “Need you.”

“You need to rest, so your broken ribs can actually grow back together,” you tried to argue. 

“My ribs are fine, comere,” Calum pressed his crotch to your clothed centre, his lips assaulting your neck. 

“You’re insatiable,” you giggled, his lips tickling on your skin. “Calum, stop, I’m not fucking you in a house full of your wolves.”

Calum looked up at you and smiled devilishly. “I sent them away while you were still sleeping.”

You listened to the house. And instantly understood he was right. The fridge was gurgling in the kitchen and Calum’s dog was shifting in his sleep on the couch. Apart from that the house was silent. It was empty. How come you didn’t hear it? 

“You still need rest,” you tried again.

“I still need you,” Calum smirked and pushed you a little back in an attempt to get on you, but you pushed him back. You huffed, giving in. 

“Let me ride you,” you whispered, sitting up and sliding from him. 

“Where you’re going, baby?” Calum pulled you back.

“Wanna fuck me through your sweats?” you snarled back, wiggling out of the pants.

Calum chuckled. “Watch your mouth,” he warned, as you straddled him again. He already lowered the covers and his underwear and you sank straight on his dick.

You both lost your breathes at the first moment, feeling too intense, mixed with pain and pure euphoria of belonging to each other. Calum’s hands slipped under his own shirt, covering you now, to stroke your body, help you keep the balance. You whimpered quietly and lifted yourself, sliding back down and letting him go deeper. You were going slow, as slow as you only could, savouring the feeling. Calum was kissing you deep, his tongue moving in unison with your rocking on him. His hands were torturing your breasts and clenching on your butt. He didn’t try to rush you, taking all you were ready to give, whispering how you were his in your hair, inhaling your confirmations along with your moans. You felt like you lost yourself, becoming a part of him forever. Until you found yourself again, shattered to million little pieces, shimmering with bright happiness.

The sky was getting blue as you two lay in your bliss, your head on Calum’s shoulder. 

“How bad is it?” Calum asked quietly, rubbing your bandage.

“Told you, just a scratch. The bullet barely brushed,” you whispered back, kissing his skin. You felt he had something on his mind again and waited for him to spill.

Calum sighed and asked after a while, “What now?”

“Hm?” you lifted your head up to see him better. “What now?”

“I mean-” Calum stumbled, looking away. “Do you still need time? Can I bring you to the pack? What are we doing now?”

You giggled, amused to see your big bad alpha so indecisive and unsure. 

“Why is everyone laughing?” Calum groaned, rolling his eyes. “What’s so damn funny in all of this for you?”

You hid your smile on his chest, not missing the opportunity to peck on his collar bones.

“Don’t you think we started from the wrong end?” you asked only to be met with his confused sight. “You’re expecting me to spend the rest of my life with you, Calum. How about asking a girl out on a proper date?”

“What, sit in a restaurant, discussing worst childhood memories and favourite books?” he asked skeptically.

“Yes,” you nodded. “And also the names of first pets, what foods we’re allergic to and what political party we vote for.”

Calum let out a short laugh. He raised up a little and pecked your nose. “A date it is then.”

Then he lay back down and closed his eyes, pulling you in closer. You put your head down on his shoulder and closed your eyes too, ready to drift off to sleep. 

Instead you saw a parking lot and a pure blood demanding of your attention. You froze, shivers crept up your spine, the realization striking you. Matt was in the town and wanted to see you. How the fuck could you forget about that?

“You alright?” Calum asked, feeling you shift uncomfortably, his voice thick and sleepy.

“Yeah, just, understood I have to be at work in several hours,” you lied.

“Call in sick,” Calum offered.

You mumbled something what you hoped sounded as an agreement, wishing you could just as easily call in sick to your past, which seemed to finally reach you this time. 

***


End file.
